Did You Know?

When Oklahoma was officially opened for settlement in 1889, large numbers of people had already snuck into the state and laid claims. These settlers came to be known as "Sooners," as they had settled sooner than was intended. Hundreds of legal cases arguing about the intended "time of entry" sprung up as a result, and several were brought before the Supreme Court. The 1893 decision in Smith v. Townsend resulted in many "Sooners" being removed from the land they had claimed.